Social media customer service: how a restaurant or tour answers comments and DMs
Social media customer service is answering the questions, comments and complaints people send you on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. For a small business it comes down to one inbox, instant replies for the common questions, a real answer the same day, and moving anything about payment or a complaint into a private message.
Key takeaways
- Meta Business Suite lets you answer messages on Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp from one inbox, with automations for greetings, hours, location and frequently asked questions.
- In Sprout Social's 2025 Index survey, 73% of consumers expected a reply within 24 hours or sooner.
- Facebook shows a very responsive badge on Pages that answer 90% of messages with a response time under 15 minutes.
- Google ended Business Profile chat on 31 July 2024; where it's offered, you can add a WhatsApp or text link to your profile instead.
Why does customer service on social media matter for a small business?
Because the question in your DMs is often a customer deciding. "Can you seat eight of us on Friday?" or "Is the sunset tour on tomorrow?" is someone ready to come, and the first business that answers usually gets them. Comments are public too, so the next guest reads how you answered the last complaint. A restaurant or a tour operator can handle this with a daily routine for the inbox.
How do you handle customer service on social media?
1. Answer every channel from one inbox
Connect your Facebook Page, Instagram business account and WhatsApp Business account to Meta Business Suite. Messages from all three, and comments from Facebook and Instagram, then land in one Inbox on your phone or computer, so nobody has to check three apps between services.1
2. Set up automations for repeat questions
In the Inbox, turn on an instant reply for first messages and an away message for when you're closed. Then add the templates for hours, location, contact details and a few frequently asked questions: parking, dietary options, what to bring on the tour. On desktop you can also reply automatically to messages containing a keyword, or to comments with a hashtag.1
3. Reply within a day: what Sprout's 2025 survey found
Sprout Social's 2025 Index survey found 73% expected a response within 24 hours or sooner, and 73% said they'd buy from a competitor if a brand doesn't respond on social. For a café that means checking the inbox at opening and again after the lunch rush, every day, weekends included.4
4. Know what Facebook counts as a fast reply
Facebook's response rate counts the first message someone sends after 24 hours of silence on both sides, over the past 30 days, or your last 10 messages if you got fewer. Answer 90% of those with a response time under 15 minutes and the Page shows the very responsive badge. Instant replies and away messages don't count toward either number, and nor do messages received while your status is set to away.3
5. Take payments and complaints into a private message
Reply to a public complaint once, in the comments, with an apology and an offer to sort it out, then continue in a DM. Never ask for card numbers or order details in a comment. Praise gets a short public thank-you, which tells the next reader someone is listening. The same rules apply to Google reviews, which our guide to responding to Google reviews covers.
6. Give Google customers a way to message you
Google switched off Business Profile chat and its quote requests on 31 July 2024. In some regions a verified profile can add a WhatsApp click-to-chat link or a number that receives texts under Edit profile, then Contact; if you add both, Google shows only the text option. Make sure your phone number is on the profile either way.6
7. Turn the questions you keep getting into posts
Keep a note of the questions that come in each week. When the same one comes up three times, answer it in a post or a pinned story: the new menu, the cancellation rule, how to find the meeting point. The free social post generator writes that answer as an Instagram, Facebook and Google post from one line.
Checklist
- Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp connected to one inbox
- Instant reply and away message on
- Hours, location and common questions answered automatically
- Inbox checked at opening and after the busiest hour
- Complaints answered once in public, then in a DM
- No card numbers or order details asked for in comments
- WhatsApp or text link on the Google profile where offered
- Repeat questions turned into posts
Questions
What is social media customer service?
Answering the questions, comments, messages and complaints customers send a business on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, in public or in private, as part of how the business looks after them.
How fast should a business reply on social media?
Within a day at the latest. Sprout Social's 2025 survey found most consumers expect that, and Facebook's very responsive badge goes to Pages that answer within a quarter of an hour.
Can I set up automatic replies on Instagram and Facebook?
Yes. Meta Business Suite has instant replies, away messages and answers for hours, location, contact details and frequent questions, for Facebook Pages and Instagram business accounts, and for WhatsApp Business accounts connected to it.
Should I answer complaints in public or private?
Both: reply once in public so other readers see you responded, then move the details into a private message, especially anything to do with payment.
Can customers still message me on Google?
Not through the old Business Profile chat, which Google ended in 2024. In some regions you can add a WhatsApp link or a texting number to your profile's contact details instead.
Sources
- Meta Business Help Center, About Inbox automations in Meta Business Suite Inbox · read
- Meta Business Help Center, Response rate · read
- Meta Business Help Center, About the very responsive badge for Messenger · read
- Sprout Social, Social media customer service: what it is and how to improve it (on the 2025 Sprout Social Index) · read
- Google Business Profile Help, Chat with customers from your Business Profile · read
- Google Business Profile Help, Changes to Google Business Profile chat and call history · read
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